Morning Buzz: Free agency not done yet
Welcome to your Morning Buzz, rounding up news and views regarding the Green Bay Packers and the NFL from around the web and here at PackersNews.com. Grab a strong cup of coffee and get caught up on everything you need to know about the Packers.
Pete Dougherty starts us off with his take on Ted Thompson taking a hard line on T.J. Lang.
Let’s accept as a given that Lang is exactly the kind of player you want on your team. He plays really good football and leads on the field and in the locker room. A true professional.
Yet, when the bidding got serious, according to reports from PackersNews.com and ESPN.com, Thompson and contract negotiator Russ Ball’s final three-year offer was barely more than $7 million per. So Lang did what any of us would. He took the substantially better deal from the Lions, which included the advantage of living in his Detroit-area home year-round.
It couldn’t have been easy for Thompson to part with Lang, but it’s hard to blame him for drawing a line at guard that he didn’t for a pass rusher. The GM now has about six weeks to make the moves that ensure it was worth it.
The Packers are hosting free-agent defensive lineman Ricky Jean Francois. Tom Silverstein has all the latest on a player the Packers were actually interested in back in 2013.
I chatted with readers over on our Facebook page late Tuesday afternoon about free agency and the upcoming draft:
The Packers have plenty of cap space:
Fun piece from the Packers Wire on a cornerback prospect the Packers could look at during each round of the NFL draft:
Jake Ryan made Pro Football Focus’ most-improved second-year players list:
The Packers were in attendance at Northeastern State’s Pro Day:
Packers Talk looks at the future of the wide receivers in Green Bay:
Michelle Bruton makes the case for drafting a guard in the first round:
Rob Demovsky looks at the many free-agent options still available to the Packers, including Adrian Peterson:
Speaking of which, good stuff from Sam Monson on why Peterson seems to be an undesirable free agent:
NBC Sports’ Josh Norris doesn’t think T.J. Watt is going to make it to the Packers in April’s draft: